Highline: walking on a wire, saying hi to the void, living in the present

We are proud to welcome the skyliners, passionate fans of the mountains, highlining, mountaineering, base jumping and paragliding, to our team. In 2010, they crossed paths with the video-maker Seb Montaz who made the film "I believe I can fly (Flight of the Frenchies)". In just a few days, the video was all over the web, allowing the public to discover this new discipline. Interview with one of them, Antoine Moineville, to find out more.

The term highline is regularly used in English-speaking countries to describe a line or cable stretched at height between ships or from the port to transfer goods or equipment. Today, it is one of the many practices in a recently developed sporting discipline known as slackline. Just like tightrope walking, the aim is to walk while keeping your balance on a slightly elastic cord suspended between two trees, two mountains, two skyscrapers, etc. But practising highline is primarily a state of mind, a quest for total balance and going beyond your limits at a height of 5, 10, 200 m or even higher!

Interview with Antoine Moineville, one of the members of Team Skyliners.

How did you get interested in the discipline?

Antoine Moineville: At the age of 22, I suddenly decided to give up my studies and devote myself entirely to my passion for the mountains. In 2009, I discovered slackline in Fontainebleau. A year after that, I crossed my first highline alongside Julien Millot, Sébastien Brugalla and Tancrède Melet. After the Verdon gorges the Mont Blanc massif became an ideal place to explore how to open lines in the middle of the sky. For example, the Dent du Géant in winter, the Aiguilles du Diable, Envers des Aiguilles, Grépon, Aiguille de la République and so on. The Skyliners team was born and constantly expanded its horizons both in cities and the mountains, in distant countries and in new worlds. My aim is to share my passion for mountaineering, create bridges between different worlds and stimulate my creativity and curiosity.

What does it feel like when you're on the wire?

AM: It's living in the present moment, step by step. How can you feel more immersed in the natural elements than perched on the summit of a mountain balancing on a wire, your head in the clouds...?

What sunglasses do you recommend for highlining?

AM: It's all about your vision and focus. You need extreme concentration not to stumble and to keep such a precarious sense of balance, where you have to forget the cloud that's breaking up on the wire, the sun that's dazzling you, the wind that's pushing you. You have to fix on that point just ahead of you, with your eyes, your head and your body. I use Treks which stay firmly on my face and are light so that I can completely forget them and get into the zone.

What are your plans for 2013?

AM: We have plans around slackline, which for us is a way of creating bridges between different disciplines, different worlds and different generations.And then there's also Skyline, a discipline we invented and where it's all to play for!More than just highlining in the mountains, it's also a new form of mountaineering. The term will be made official in our next film that's coming out in June...